Wednesday, September 09, 2015

New Interactive Map of Gold King Mine water sampling in CO, NM, UT and AZ

The Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) has launched an
interactive map, Gold
King Mine Spill Water & Sediment Sample Locations, showing more
than 200 water and/or sediment sampling sites that represent more than 1,000
water analyses from: US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Colorado
Department of Public Health & Environment, New Mexico Environmental
Department, and the Utah and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
Additional sample sites and data from the US Geological Survey, the Navajo
Nation Environmental Protection Agency, and the Arizona Game & Fish Dept.,
will also be included if made available.

The 3-million gallon Colorado Gold
King Mine spill of August 5, 2015, spurred water sampling along the Animas and
San Juan Rivers, Lake Powell, and from nearby wells and irrigation canals in
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Navajo Nation lands.

The
chief objective of AZGS interactive map is to show the scope of the state,
tribal, and federal response to the spill; to provide cooperating agencies and
the public with access to the sample results; to assist responding agencies in
coordinating, collaborating, and communicating who is sampling, where they are
sampling, and when samples are being taken.

The
map displays 115 sample sites in Colorado, nearly 80 in New Mexico, 20 in Utah,
and 5 sample sites in Arizona. Map features include: sample date and location,
links to data sources reporting water analyses, sample type (water or
sediment), time slider, and toggling sample sites reporting concentrations of
arsenic, cadmium, lead and/or mercury in exceedance of the federal safe
drinking water standard. These four elements were identified by the US
EPA as the primary contaminants of concern due to their potential to pose
significant health risks.